The War

S01E02: When Things Get Tough

January 1943 - December 1943: Americans mobilize for total war at home and overseas. Factories hum around the clock, while in North Africa and then Italy, inexperienced GIs learn how to fight. Meanwhile, in the skies over Europe, thousands of American airmen gamble their lives against preposterous odds on daylight bombing missions.

Overview

The story of the Second World War through the personal accounts of a handful of men and women from four American towns. The war touched the lives of every family on every street in every town in America and demonstrated that in extraordinary times, there are no ordinary lives.

Episodes

A Necessary War

S01E01 A Necessary War

March 5, 2008 8.2 142 min
December 1941 - December 1942: The tranquil lives of the citizens of Mobile, Alabama; Sacramento, California; Waterbury, Connecticut; and Luverne, Minnesota are shattered on December 7, 1941, as they, along with the rest of America,...
When Things Get Tough

S01E02 When Things Get Tough

March 5, 2008 7.8 115 min
January 1943 - December 1943: Americans mobilize for total war at home and overseas. Factories hum around the clock, while in North Africa and then Italy, inexperienced GIs learn how to fight. Meanwhile, in the...
A Deadly Calling

S01E03 A Deadly Calling

March 12, 2008 7.5 110 min
November 1943 - June 1944: Americans are shocked by terrible losses on the Pacific atoll of Tarawa, while in Italy Allied forces are stalled for months at Monte Cassino, and a risky landing at Anzio...
Pride of Our Nation / A Volunteer Basis

S01E04 Pride of Our Nation / A Volunteer Basis

March 12, 2008 7.5 136 min
June 1944 - August 1944: On June 6, 1944, D-Day, 1.5 million Allied troops take part in the greatest invasion in history, but then bog down in the Norman hedgerows for weeks. Saipan proves the...
FUBAR

S01E05 FUBAR

March 19, 2008 7.5 124 min
September 1944 - December 1944: Victory in Europe seems imminent, but in Holland, the Vosges Mountains, and the Hurtgen Forest, GIs learn painful lessons as old as war itself - that generals make plans, plans...
The Ghost Front

S01E06 The Ghost Front

March 19, 2008 7.5 117 min
December 1944 - March 1945: Americans are shocked by Hitler's massive counterattack in the Ardennes forest - but by mid-March, 1945, they are across the Rhine, while the Russians are 50 miles from Berlin. In...
A World Without War

S01E07 A World Without War

March 26, 2008 8.3 125 min
March 1945 - December 1945: A few weeks after the death of President Roosevelt shocks the country, Germany surrenders. Meanwhile, American sailors, soldiers and Marines endure the worst battle of the Pacific - Okinawa. In...

Cast

Keith David
Keith David
Narrator (voice)
Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Narrator (voice)
Josh Lucas
Josh Lucas
Narrator (voice)
Bobby Cannavale
Bobby Cannavale
Narrator (voice)
Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel L. Jackson
Narrator (voice)
Eli Wallach
Eli Wallach
Narrator (voice)
Robert Wahlberg
Robert Wahlberg
Narrator (voice)
Adam Arkin
Adam Arkin
Reader (voice)
Carolyn McCormick
Carolyn McCormick
Reader (voice)
Robert Wahlberg
Robert Wahlberg
James A. Fahey (Voice)
Bobby Cannavale
Bobby Cannavale
Babe Ciarlo (Voice)
Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Al McIntosh (Voice)

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